I share your view on ragequitting, but have a deep well of forgiveness for Aaron. Lifelong depression is unspeakably painful; I ask no one to live with that pain unabated. It seems Aaron was facing pain on almost all fronts; I can feel little else but compassion.
And despite his amazing accomplishments, he was quite young. As I have aged, and as a friend noted last night - through considerable laughter - that it seems life is a long series of conquering one hill only to find another in your path. The first few times this happens to you can be shattering, until you learn to enjoy the brief coast downhill and the challenge of getting to the to of the next.
Did the government pursuit of him exacerbate the pain in his life? I frankly can't see how it would not. It was deliberately (I am struck by that word - de-liberate) structured to wear him down. Was it shameful on our part? Absolutely.
Is this odd? Nope. The current powers-that-be are fighting madly against the future-that-will-be, the future that Aaron could see wholly and clearly. This is a pattern we've seen throughout time as those who have the power struggle to maintain an ever loosening grip.
Bless you, Aaron. You did what you could. You will be remembered and cherished.

When Joel Spolsky, my business partner on Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange, asked me what I wanted to do after I left Stack Exchange, I distinctly remember mentioning Aaron Swartz. That's what Aaron was to us hackers: an exemplar of the noble, selfless behavior and positive action that all hac...